Theories of Security and contemporary challenges
Etablissement : ESPOL European School of Political and Social Sciences
Langue : Anglais
Formation(s) dans laquelle/lesquelles le cours apparait :
- Master’s in International and Security politics [ECTS : 6,00]
Période : S2
Security, at least in the (post-)industrial societies of the second half of the XXème century, has become a complete obsession, especially signalled by the saturation of language with the word security. For thirty years on, indeed, the word “security” proliferated, giving rise to new expressions/concepts such as “individual security,” “human security,” “ontological security,” “societal security,” “food security,” “computing security”… that came in addition to already established ones such as “national security” or “social security”.
From the 1990s onwards, the concept of security itself became especially controversial and essentially contested. In the academic world, discussions about concepts of security contributed to the emergence and progressive empowerment (autonomisation) of a field of study now known as “security studies” to which many researchers coming from various disciplinary backgrounds converged.
With this in mind, the main objective of this course is to provide the students with a conceptual grid that could help them to understand the contemporary realities of security and to decipher the discourses on security — be they academic discourses that construct security as an object of knowledge, or discourses by “security experts” when they seek to elaborate and implement security policies by simply taking security for granted.
In this purpose, the course is divided in two sections. After the introductory class, a first set of six classes will offer students a non-exhaustive, yet rather complete overview of the different “approaches” to and theorizations of security when developed as an object of knowledge by those intending to study security. A second set of three thematic classes will focus on three major contemporary sites of materialization and transformation of ‘security’ : ‘Security, Economy, Capital’,‘Security, Border, Migration’,‘Security, Development, Climate change’.
Session 01 – General Introduction
- Overall presentation of the course, methodology, readings and modalities of evaluation;
- Genealogical History of Security Studies
- Epistemological issues attached to the study of security
SECTION 1 – THEORIZATIONS
Session 02 – Security in the Realist and Liberal theorizations of IR
Concepts: (Inter)national Security, power, power politics, war, anarchy, security dilemma, deterrence, cooperation, collective security, security community, Democratic peace theory.
Reading(s):
- Wolfers Arnold (1952), “‘National Security’ as an Ambiguous Symbol”, Science Quarterly, 67(4): 481-502.
- Deutsch Karl et al. (1957), “Political Community and the North Atlantic Area,” in B. Nelsen, A. Stubb (eds.), The European Union. Reading on the Theory and Practice of European Integration, Boulder/New York: Lynne Rienner Publishers, pp. 121-134
Session 03 – Peace Studies and Critical Security Studies
Concepts: War, positive & negative peace, structural & cultural violence, emancipation, human security, individual security
Readings:
- Galtung Johan (1969), “Violence, Peace and Peace Research”, Journal of Peace Research, 6(3): 167-191.
- Booth Ken (1991), “Security and Emancipation”, Review of International Studies, 17: 333-326.
Session 04 – Securitization Theory and Sociological approaches to Security
Concepts: Securitization, language, security as speech act, process, exception, societal security, Security as practices, field (of security), habitus
Readings:
- Wæver Ole, Buzan Barry, De Wilde Jaap (1995), “Security Analysis: Conceptual Apparatus”, in: Security. A New Framework for Analysis, London/Boulder: Lynne Rienner Publishers, pp.21-48.
- Basaran Tugba et al. (2010), “Security Practices,” in Robert A. Denemark (dir.), International Studies Encyclopaedia, New York/London, Blackwell Publishing Online: 1-30.
SECTION 2 – CONTEMPORARY CHALLENGES
Session 05 – Security, Liberty, Economy
Concepts: Economic security, liberalism, capital, governmentality.
Readings:
- Foucault Michel (2004 [1978]), “Lecture Two. 18 January 1978”, in Security, Territory, Population. Lectures at the Collège de France1977-78. Edited by Michel Senellart, François Ewald and Alessandro Fontana. New York: Palgrave/Macmillan, pp. 51-71.
- Neocleous Mark (2006), “From Social to National Security: On the Fabrication of Economic Order”, Security Dialogue, 37(3): 363-384.
Session 6 – Security, Border, Migration
Concepts: Border, territory, migration, mobility, circulation, control, surveillance, intelligence, data, information, traceability.
Readings:
- Bigo Didier (2002), “Security and Immigration. Toward of Critique of the Governmentality of Unease”, Alternatives. Global, Local, Political, 7: 63-92.
- Jeandesboz Julien (2017): European border policing: EUROSUR, knowledge, calculation, Global Crime, 18(4): 1-30
Session 7 – Security, Development, Climate Change
Concepts: Development, domination, human security, postcolonial critique, ecological security
Readings:
- Duffield Mark (2010), “The Liberal Way of Development and the Development—Security Impasse: Exploring the Global Life-Chance Divide”, Security Dialogue, 41(1): 53-76.
- McDonald Matt (2013), “Discourses of Climate Security”, Political Geography, 33: 42-51
Session 8– Conclusion
